OPENAI has launched a pilot programme for advertising within ChatGPT, targeting both the free tier and the new ChatGPT Go subscription, with promotional displays appearing at the base of the chat interface and clearly labelled as “Sponsored.” According to OpenAI, the AI’s responses will remain uncompromised, and the move marks the end of the ad-free era for ChatGPT, while Premium subscribers on Plus, Pro, Team and Enterprise will continue to experience an advertisement-free experience.
The company says ads are not targeted based on sensitive topics and that user dialogues and data will not be sold to advertisers, with users able to disable personalised advertising. OpenAI also signalled that advertising revenue is expected to be just a portion of total earnings, with internal sources cited by CNBC indicating revenue may eventually constitute less than half of its earnings.
CEO Sam Altman has noted that ChatGPT’s monthly growth has surpassed 10% again, and an “Updated Chat Model” is planned to roll out to counterbalance the promotional content. Anthropic used the Super Bowl to run a satirical ad about OpenAI’s new policy, described as a response to the monetisation shift.